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Kelela's New Video for 'LMK' is All About Confidence

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 09, 2017 |

Posted by: Olivia Lewis

Just last week, we talked about Kelela as an artist to watch after she came out with her new single "LMK." Today, the Ethiopian-American R&B singer released the music video for her recent single, and it's every bit as good as the song itself.

The video was directed by Andrew Thomas Huang, a filmmaker and artist who has collaborated with Björk, and features Kelela walking confidently through colorful, hazy club-like setups. Throughout the video, Kelela switches between wigs a couple times before finally revealing her true self at the end. Huang has said of the video, "We wanted to make a video that showcases the multiplicity of who Kelela is and who she has the potential to be… The message of the video is empowerment: it's for the girls, for anyone whose heart has been trampled on and deserves to go out and feel good about themselves."

Both the song and the video have a nostalgic feeling to them that doesn't necessarily seem purposeful or forced; they're both merely influenced naturally by 90s and early 2000s era R&B music and videos, while integrating uniquely 2017 experimental and surreal elements. Certain parts of the video, like the sunglasses and wig combos and the choreography, definitely remind me of turn-of-the-century, Destiny's Child-esque videos. Kelela's voice is comparable to earlier R&B artists, but Jam City's spare, industrial-sounding production lets you know that it's definitely a cutting edge song, if the abbreviated title didn't already clue you in. Overall, both the video and song take the best elements from different eras to create a flawless, fun to watch music video.